I read this article in the New York Times and felt like sharing it. It’s about over-medication and keeping people dying rather than living. The article noted that in a survey, most people in nursing homes said they would prefer to have one day of wellness rather than two whole years in frail care.

The article tells the long and painful story of an old man who suffered a stroke through which he lost much of his speech and his physical independence. His wife who had previously enjoyed her retirement was now a full-time heathcare worker. Her blood pressure rose and her weight fell, she was put on sleeping pills and anti-depressants. The stroke had devastated two lives.

Not long after the stroke, the man developed a painful hernia which needed to be operated on. Doctors were uncertain as to whether his heart was strong enough for surgery and a pacemaker was recommended. They inserted a pacemaker and went through with the surgery. The same age-related degeneration that had slowed his heart began to attack his eyes, lungs, bladder and bowels. Tiny clots lodged in the blood vessels in his brain, killing clusters of neurons by depriving them of oxygen. He began losing his sight and grew incontinent. He was collapsing physically. A man and woman’s lives were in ruins but the years rolled on and the pacemaker kept on ticking.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

“If we did nothing, his pacemaker would not stop for years. Like the tireless charmed brooms in Disney’s “Fantasia,” it would prompt my father’s heart to beat after he became too demented to speak, sit up or eat. It would keep his heart pulsing after he drew his last breath. If he was buried, it would send signals to his dead heart in the coffin.”

Our aged live with Alzheimers and dementia for many many years all of which require 24 hour care. Pneumonia was once called “the old man’s friend” for its promise of an easy death. That’s not the case anymore. Modern medicine seems to have removed any hope of dying with dignity.

The Living Will stands to protect us if we are on life support, but it doesn’t mention irreversible dementia or being incontinent.

Are we really doing this to our old folk? Do we really want this for ourselves one day?